Fish

If you can buy tank raised clownfish, you should have an easier time getting them to eat frozen prepared foods and even host in anemones more easily. I bought this pair of False Perculas - Amphiprion ocellaris - when they were 6 months old. The smaller one of the two is so tiny and just adorable as it swims like crazy to reach the other end of the tank. The clowns stay together for the most part, and give me reason to smile. Over time both fish colored up vividly. They were quite faded at the onset.

While perusing the LFS, I discovered a young Lemon Meringue Wrasse -Halichoeres leucoxanthus - and brought it home. This particular species likes to hide in the substrate, and for the first 4-5 days it was nowhere to be found! It can grow up to 6" long, and swims all over the tank all day in search of 'pods' to eat, found on the LR (live rock). It has jumped in & out of my overflow box in search of food, and at lights out, dives into the substrate to sleep. Note the white belly, which differs from the Golden / Banana / Yellow Coris Wrasse.

Although short-lived in my tank, my first Lawnmower Blenny - Salarias fasciatus - had a lot of character and loved to pose for the camera. I had hoped it would live up to its name and eat green hair algae, but after a while it was nowhere to be found. Fortunately, I don't have any of that algae either. Reef-safe.

Often confused for a Queen Angel, this is a juvenile Blue Angel - Holacanthus bermudensis, often found off the Florida Coastline. As beautiful as it is, this fish nipped at every item I put in my tank. Corals were not safe, whether hard or soft, and until I gave this fish away to a fellow reefer nothing was able to thrive.

From the Dwarf Angelfish family, this is a Coral Beauty - Centropyge bispinosus. This fish came with the 55g setup I bought, and recovered its original colors in a year's time. These fish are quite shy and love to retreat into safe hiding places. So elusive, that I couldn't get a good shot, but Travis did. It will not get along with other dwarf angels in smaller tanks, but in a larger system it should be okay. Reef-safe.

Tangs need a lot of space, and this juvenile Blue Atlantic Tang - Acanthurus coeruleus - never was very happy in my 55g reef. Although very healthy, and very fat, it could race across the tank in the blink of an eye, literally! Its discontent resulted in it bullying other fish, and so I let it go to another reefer.

The purple firefish - Nemateleotris helfrichi - is quite popular in our hobby, and costs 2x to 3x more than a red firefish. These small fish swim in open water, twitching their little dorsal fin in the current. They are known jumpers, and fine mesh over the top of your tank is the only way to keep these fish safely. Quite shy in nature, they should get used to their tank mates in time and showcase their lavender coloration. This first picture was taken by Luiz Rocha at 80 meters (262 feet) in Pohnpei.

This interesting pair live together. The Yasha Goby - Stonogobiops yasha - guards and signals the Candy Stripe Pistol Shrimp - Alpheus randalli - when it is safe and when it is time to duck for cover. The shrimp always keeps at least one antennae on the fish, and when it feels a sudden twitch it knows to retreat into its hole in the sand.

This mated pair of Gold Stripe Maroon Clowns- Premnas biaculeatus - came with a tank I purchased years ago, but I knew of the aggressive nature of female Maroon Clowns and put them both in a 10 gallon tank with LR. As a point of reference, that is a Skilter 250 in the background! Ahem... 9 months later, they were still happily entertaining my teenage son daily. Next he wanted a bigger tank.

This is a Black Fingered Mud crab - Xanthid crab. He arrived on a coral when small, but had grown quickly. This guy is black in real life; this picture is a bit misleading. His pinchers remind me of a Mithrax crab, but it has 'teeth' within the claws. Because he can't be trusted, he was transferred into my refugium where he'd be trouble-free. Xanthids are Not Reef-safe.